Jdavison911
Active Member
Dose anyone see a issue with using this product to add po4? Thanks in advance
GLA
Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4)
GLA
Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4)
Adding po4
- Thread starter Jdavison911
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Jdavison911
Active Member
To bring my po4 up just a little. I have very little bio load and 500 gallons of water. My corals are starting to suffer just a bit and need to feed them a little. Increasing food for the fish hasn't work because I have very few.
Hitman
Reefing One Day @ A Time!!!
Yes you can. I’m having to start dosing both N & P as my tests have been flat zeros for over a month and my SPS and nems are starting to struggle as well. Just dose slowly and test twice daily at the exact same times of the day, once it hits where you want your levels test once daily to verify you daily dose, then go to weekly once your dosing regiment is holding steady.
Personally I will not dose anything that is not tested for at minimum weekly but I’m OCD like that lol
Personally I will not dose anything that is not tested for at minimum weekly but I’m OCD like that lol
Rich Klein
Active Member
I had the same problem (unreadable levels of NO3 and PO4), then suffered from dinos. I dosed this to bring-up and establish a base-line of PO4 with good results: https://seachem.com/flourish-phosphorus.php. My tank is really beautiful now, but had to overcome GHA that grew as part of the strategy to out-compete the dino. Now I keep my nutrient levels stable (PO4: .03-.05, NO3 5) and all my corals are very happy and growing, and no more dino.
LIreefguy
Valuable Member
Why don’t you just feed your corals instead of adding po4. Corals need more than nitrates and Phosphates. Most good corals food will have a nice balance of ingredients that corals need
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Jdavison911
Active Member
I do feed them. I drop 2 teaspoons of reefroids every Monday and Friday and dose Acropower once a week. My tanks aren’t loaded with corals I think I have 15 or so sps frags and a handfull of tourches, hammers, ect. I think my biggest problem is I don’t have anywhere close to enoung fish. My phosphates stay bottomed out and now I think I have Dino’s so another battle due to low neutreants. I have 500 total volume gallons with a yellow tang, scopas tang, 2 clowns, small blue jaw and a coral beauty. I just added a zebra eel to help things out. I just need that little more to get at least a reading. My tanks are only 6 months old so still breaking in and learning what this system wants and needs.
OP
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Jdavison911
Active Member
Thanks Rich I will take a look.
OP
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Jdavison911
Active Member
This is a pretty new system for me. I’ve had smaller systems that did great without dosing but this one is just bigger with less fish. Need a little boost to get things settled in. I’m sure things will get better once I start adding more fish but I don’t want to do that just yet. Something I can control to get a desired outcome is a little better for me than just throwing more fish in and feeding the mess out of them. I just wanted to make sure I could use this stuff, I use their kno3 and really like it.
Hitman
Reefing One Day @ A Time!!!
I completely understand as my 240 only has 7 fish in it so my bio load is almost nothing and I have enough marine pure blocks in my tank that per the company’s website will handle 1200 gallons plus 300 lbs live rock, and 200 lbs of live sand. The bacteria in my tank eats the nutrients faster then I can add them.
Sallstrom
2500 Club Member
We're using KH2PO4 for adjusting phosphate. Been working well for many years for us (small public aquarium).
And KNO3 for nitrate. We buy both of them from a local shop for fresh water/planted tanks.
And KNO3 for nitrate. We buy both of them from a local shop for fresh water/planted tanks.
Mykesocalreef
Active Member
Sometimes just feeding will not work. If your bio load is low you cant process enough through the system. I have 190 gallons of volume with 5 fish. No amount of feeding will raise it.
Reef roids once a week
Pellets nightly
Red sea A & B nightly
LRS reef frenzy daily
Oysterfeast daily
ROE daily
All of this for only 5 fish and still had trouble keeping nitrate and phosphate up. As soon as my nitrates stopped registering, dinos.
LIreefguy
Valuable Member
What amounts do you feed.
I can say I feed my fish 10 times a day but if I feed them 3 pellets a feeding and you feed 30 pellets in one feeding. We both really feed the same
What I don’t understand and maybe I am wrong
I have 50 fish and feed a lot. I have Phosphates issues. So if you feed the 5 fish and corals as much as I feed the 50 fish you won’t have the same issue.
I can say I feed my fish 10 times a day but if I feed them 3 pellets a feeding and you feed 30 pellets in one feeding. We both really feed the same
What I don’t understand and maybe I am wrong
I have 50 fish and feed a lot. I have Phosphates issues. So if you feed the 5 fish and corals as much as I feed the 50 fish you won’t have the same issue.
Mykesocalreef
Active Member
Do you think its possible to feed 5 fish the same amount as 50? 5 fish do not produce the same amount of waste as 50. That is where the problem lies, the processing of the food you feed.
Phosphate and nitrate dosing works well in the situations where you cant just feed. I do agree feeding more is beneficial, sometimes it just cant keep up.
I agree that adding nutrients is good to help get rid of dinos. I had them. Very bad situation. As your tank matures, you may not need to dose any more. As mentioned above, test for anything you add. Also, you are likely going to get cyano, film, and hair algaes as the dino competitors ramp up. Good luck.
Also, as long as you don't have amphidinium dinos, a UV should help. Unfortunately for you, it would have to be very large (175 watts or so).
LIreefguy
Valuable Member
You can feed 5 fish as much as I feed my 50. They can’t eat as much but it is possible to feed them
Uneaten food will break down to Phosphates and nitrate also
My point is I rather keep increasing my food amount slowly then dose ph4 and nitrates. Both those have other elements in them that can build up slowly
Also in a 6 month old tank I feel dosing the nutrients is a much more likely chance of over dosing causing the nutrients to rise
In 500 gallons of water it’s much harder and more expensive to lower them once they are risen
I have 650 gallons I know this first hand
All I am saying imo. I would first increase my feeding amount by 20 precent and see where that takes me for 2 months. Then increase 20 again
Thats all i am saying.
Now I am not saying there isn’t ever a time to dose these elements but in a 6 month of tank I would try other course of action first.
Even using old rock his tank is still a baby
That’s all I am saying. It’s my opinion and surely you can have a different one
Plus i rather feed my 5 first till they explode so they get bigger
I would keep nori in there 24-7 for my tangs
Would feed foozej mysis. Would feed my fish as much as I can in the next 2 months and see
But yes if you have 5 tiny fish I understand it might not be possible
Uneaten food will break down to Phosphates and nitrate also
My point is I rather keep increasing my food amount slowly then dose ph4 and nitrates. Both those have other elements in them that can build up slowly
Also in a 6 month old tank I feel dosing the nutrients is a much more likely chance of over dosing causing the nutrients to rise
In 500 gallons of water it’s much harder and more expensive to lower them once they are risen
I have 650 gallons I know this first hand
All I am saying imo. I would first increase my feeding amount by 20 precent and see where that takes me for 2 months. Then increase 20 again
Thats all i am saying.
Now I am not saying there isn’t ever a time to dose these elements but in a 6 month of tank I would try other course of action first.
Even using old rock his tank is still a baby
That’s all I am saying. It’s my opinion and surely you can have a different one
Plus i rather feed my 5 first till they explode so they get bigger
I would keep nori in there 24-7 for my tangs
Would feed foozej mysis. Would feed my fish as much as I can in the next 2 months and see
But yes if you have 5 tiny fish I understand it might not be possible
